


Fears, all in the past

by Effymaybe



Category: The Prom (2020)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:14:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29218560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Effymaybe/pseuds/Effymaybe
Summary: “Another prom?”, Alyssa asks in disbelief.Also,Emma’s carpentry works wonderfully for her mind… and her body. Alyssa loves her girlfriend very, very much so. Kaylee discovers something really interesting and Shelby is just glad to spend some time with her friends.
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan, Kaylee/Shelby (The Prom Musical)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	Fears, all in the past

“Another prom?” Alyssa asks in disbelief, eyeing at Kaylee and Shelby’s twin smiles as they sip on their fancy glasses of orange juice.

They are sitting inside the blonde’s house, enjoying the first tickles of the summer. Outside, the sun is too hot to be bearable, but in the comfort of the kitchen, the atmosphere is nice and pleasant, often ornamented by the soft giggles shared between the three friends.

“Another prom”, Kaylee confirms, grasping her metallic straw between her fingers, “A _perfect_ one”.

Alyssa looks at Shelby almost as if asking for help.

“I mean, _our_ prom was… disastrous. A homophobic mess. Sorry about that, by the way”. 

The brunette makes a dismissive gesture with her left hand, prompting her friend to continue. They have asked for forgiveness enough times already. All their confrontations, although decisive for the development of their friendship, have been left well behind after long, painful conversations. They were ready to move on.

“And Emma’s prom was… gorgeous and very much inclusive, but none of our classmates actually went, besides me, Kaylee, Nick, and Kevin. I think that two years away from intolerant parents added to a few profiting semesters in party colleges are enough for our Edgewater youth to accept an invitation to an inclusive prom”.

“Also, they want to get drunk”, Kaylee adds, her blue eyes now fixed on her long, manicured nails.

“Also, they want to get drunk”, Shelby concedes, and shows Alyssa her most pleading look, “Oh, come on Aly, it will be fun! It will be just a small party. We can organize it all by ourselves and even put on music that we actually recognize”.

The dark-haired girl tilts her head to the side, seriously regarding the situation.

“But who could cover all the costs? You know the insane budget we managed for the first prom, and I don’t think that a bunch of Broadway actors would be in to open their wallets for yet another one”.

Kaylee smirks now, with a sparkly glint growing brighter in her eyes. Alyssa knows that look, and she does not necessarily _like_ it.

“My father. Well, his credit card, really. He had it coming after the whole not-so-secret-cheating stunt he pulled with my mom last year. She’s still making him pray three times a day, I suspect only to make him crazy”. Shelby puts a light, careful hand on top of her best friend’s shoulder, but the blonde seems truly unbothered. “And I told you, we will deal with decorations ourselves. We now even have the assistance of your girlfriend’s carpentry skills”.

Alyssa tries not to smile too hard at the mention of her favorite blonde. She also really, really tries to suppress the flash memories of the girl working on a new project with a slight frown dancing in her brows, and her steady hands caressing the wood, and light droplets of sweat-

“Alyssa, focus! Where’s your girlfriend, anyways?”

The brunette blinks rapidly before her mind is allowed to function again.

“Oh, she’s at her grandma’s. She’s helping her fix some broken cabinets”.

“See? My point”, Kaylee insists, her white smile widening across her features, “We have all we need. Say yes, Aly. We will have so much fun!”

Deprived from any quick argument against the big, clearly celebrated project, Alyssa agrees. It only takes her the brief sound of Kaylee and Shelby’s excited screams to start regretting her decisive words. 

The three girls speak for a while more, filling in all the big chunks of information they couldn’t send each other through the text messages they shared during the whole year. The blonde chatters about the perks of studying design before going into detail as for how absolutely depressed she was the first month after she and Nick irremediably broke up, the long-distance relationship being too difficult to handle. Shelby speaks a tad lower, expressing concern about her grades but gratitude towards her new medical school classmates who seem to understand her so well. As for Alyssa, she’s practically coaxed into telling that yes, law is definitely her thing and yes, Emma is crushing her music major, indeed, and yes, everything between them is going super well even though they can’t their faces every single day.

There is a brief pause that follows as Kaylee stares at her empty glass with a slight smirk.

“I just don’t get it”, she breathes, and Alyssa narrows her eyes almost in anticipation, “I mean I do get it. You like girls. That’s pretty cool. I just don’t get what’s so… attractive about us. I can recognize when girls are hot, of course”, she continues, pointing at herself. Her friends roll their eyes and choke a slight snort. “But when I see them… I just don’t feel _it_ , you know? Like, in my body”.

The shortest brunette needs to make a conscious effort not to burst out laughing in response to the blonde’s speech.

“Well, I think that’s called being _straight_ , Kaylee”.

The girl huffs, clearly not convinced.

“Well Shelby has been straight, too, yet she has had a good time with some girls this year!”

Alyssa rises her eyebrows in a spike of amusement.

“Kaylee!”, the tallest brunette protests, “Those were all dares…well, almost”.

This time, the dark-haired girl does tilt her head up to let out a scandalous chuckle.

“I’m just saying! I feel kind of felt out! I mean, am I missing something?”

Alyssa’s smile brightens up all her face. A year ago, she couldn’t have even imagined Kaylee actually whining about not liking women. She couldn’t have imagined being like that, so full of love at the thought of her girlfriend, so comfortable with friends that she believed would never accept her. She feels better than ever, stronger, steadier. She’s ready to face whatever is to come.

The organization of a whole impromptu prom included.

“Don’t worry, Kaylee, you aren’t missing anything. I’m sure you have fun with your men”, Alyssa concedes, sipping into her glass of cold water.

“Of course”, Shelby chimes in, mischief entangling with her tone, “I mean, who needs several rounds in bed when you have the husky smell of an Axe cologne”.

Catching the sudden outrage of Kaylee’s expression and the soundly explosion of Shelby’s laughter, Alyssa can’t help but to feel truly glad of being back home.

-

Emma stands quietly on the rich grass surrounding her porch. Her eyes are set on the fresh bouquet of flowers she prepared making use of her grandmother’s plants, pointedly hiding away from the oldest woman’s sharp stare.

She’s so, so, happy.

The warm, late afternoon sun is caressing her neck almost tenderly. A soft summer breeze insists on playing throughout her blonde curls. The sight of the house where she spent most of her teenage years –where she was always, always welcomed- fills up her chest with a mixture of melancholy and sheer pride. 

She’s been through a lot, yes. But she has also achieved so much. So many roads shine openly in front of her- college, new friends, the hint of a gig that could finally mean affording to buy good sushi at least twice a month- that she can’t help but to enjoy the palpitating feeling that it has finally gotten better.

Not to mention that she’s still going strong with literally the most beautiful, generous, intelligent woman she’s ever-

Emma feels soft arms encircling her waist in an affectionate gesture. A second later, the smell of an enticing, very much familiar scent overwhelms her senses.

A soft smile spreads throughout her features.

“Hello, beautiful. Finally meeting the sun?”

The blonde chuckles lowly, enjoying the warmth of her girlfriend’s body pressed against hers.

“We knew each other already; I’m just trying to mend our relationship now”. She turns around, her bright grin only growing dopier at the sight of Alyssa’s face. “Hi, love”, she whispers, and leans forwards to plant a soft kiss on the shortest girl’s pouty lips, “I missed you today”.

Alyssa claims for another kiss as soon as the blonde finishes speaking. This time, she holds her girlfriend’ silky cheeks close, eager to maintain their blissful contact. When she pulls away, she giggles both at the butterflies spiraling in her stomach and at the lovely sight of a very dazed Emma.

“I missed you, too. I really wanted to come this morning but my mom insisted on us preparing all that food… I guess she wanted us to bond a little more. She almost cried when I told her I missed her cooking”.

Emma tilts her head in affectionate amusement. 

“It’s okay, babe. She’s just excited to have you back. I mean, I know that I would”.

Alyssa rolls her eyes in pure tenderness as the blonde uses her free hand to caress her jaw.

“Luckily for you, we are only thirty minutes away”, her eyes finally dart down to Emma’s colorful bouquet, “Are you going to put those in a vase, or-?”

The blonde’s eyes widen in recognition.

“Ah, no, this is for you, babe”, she declares, and hands her masterpiece to a visibly swooned Alyssa. 

“My, my, Nolan”, the brunette mutters, appreciating her girlfriend’s work as a light blush begins to heat up her cheeks. “One would think that you are flirting with me”.

Emma laughs this time, clear eyes full of life as increasingly golden rays highlight her soft expression.

Four years. 

Four years and Alyssa still feels like she could _melt_ at the sight of her girlfriend oozing pure joy.

Given the awed gaze she receives from her girlfriend; she cannot help but to think that her unbidden emotions do find their match.

“I don’t know what you mean. This is all clearly, very much platonic”, Emma answers back, stealing another kiss from her girlfriend’s lips as if to make a point.

The brunette looks nothing else but delighted.

“How was your day with the fantastic duo? Did Kaylee go through another fifteen-minute speech about how much she _does not_ miss Nick?”

Alyssa grasps her girlfriend’s hand while gifting her a soft smile. 

The sun is setting quickly, and as much as she’d love to spend some time with her under the light of a fairly unpolluted sky, the brunette has promised her mother that she and Emma would spend some family-dinner-quality-time with her.

“Oh, I think that she’s finally over Nick. She came up with a brand new idea now, though”, she explains, pulling her girlfriend towards the house.

“Oh?”, Emma muses, suddenly curious.

Alyssa waits for the blonde to open the door.

“A new prom”.

“A new prom?!”, the Emma asks, her fingers still squeezing her girlfriend’s.

“I’ll tell you all about it at dinner”, the brunette answers, and her eyes brighten up at the sight of her girlfriend’s grandmother, “Hi, Mrs. Nolan!”.

Emma and Alyssa do have to rush a bit not to make Mrs. Greene wait for more than she can handle.

Nevertheless, they enjoy of quite a blissful night.

-

Alyssa hums to herself as she uses children scissors – the only pair she could find in the mess that was Shelby’s garage- to shape a ton of deep purple pieces of wrapping paper into orchids.

Just at her side, Kaylee huffs loudly as her own hands tries to coax a bunch of rugged strands of fabric into becoming some sort of a star.

The brunette tries, for the seventh time in the course of the long, long afternoon, to shallow a chuckle tickling at the base of her throat.

On the opposite side of the table, visibly less distressed, Shelby measures some long pieces of dark tulle fabric to make sure that they fit at least in an acceptably fashionable manner against the white walls of the ridiculously large room.

The blonde sighs in annoyance, and Alyssa takes it as a sign that she has had enough with trying to be creative. They have spent many hours trying to put the unprompted prom on point as they discovered, much as the dark-haired girl had guessed, that putting a party of that magnitude together in a few days was quite difficult, not to say downright _nuts_. Sure, they had settled for a significantly smaller celebration, only inviting young adults from Edgewater and surroundings, but the number of self-imposed responsibilities is still intimidating.

At some point during the preparations, Kaylee had gotten so pissed off due to the insistent noise of all her former school classmates trying to do something that she sent them to fulfill tasks which obliged them to be anywhere _but_ near her best friend’s garage. As a result, while the rest of the guests retrieve alcohol, music, and lights, the blonde can enjoy the comfortable, familiar silence of working with her closest girls.

And yes, that includes Emma.

“How’s your girlfriend doing out there, Aly? Isn’t she dehydrating or something? It’s damn hot today”, Kaylee complains, bringing her hands up to tighten up her ponytail.

The brunette hums again, instinctively raising her gaze to unsuccessfully find the figure of her girlfriend throughout the window.

“I think she will be fine. I’ll bring her a bottle of water, anyways”.

“Right? Be a good girlfriend, Aly!”, Shelby adds, a playful smirk stretching her lips.

Alyssa rolls her eyes good-naturedly, reaching towards the fridge behind her to gather some liquid for the blonde.

“I am a good girlfriend! I’m not the one who asked Emma to cut wood in the middle of the summer!”, she claims, fixing an accusatory glance on Kaylee’s figure.

“She’s the only one who knows how to!”, the blonde protests, finally giving up on her work, “I’m sure you’d agree with me on the fact that it is insane to think about giving any our ex-classmates a tool. They’d hurt themselves, and most importantly, us!”.

Shelby laughs, resting her hands on her hips, feeling the faint hint of a breeze caressing her back.

Damn, it _is_ hot.

“Let’s look for your Emma and all take a break”, she suggests. “We still have, like… seven hours”.

The three of them know that seven hours is way, way less time than what they need, but, well.

A break is a break.

-

Emma smiles softly as the faint sound Alyssa’s mellow voice reaches her ears.

Well, she _is_ kind of whipped. What about it? Her girlfriend is the most beautiful woman in the entire world, after all.

The blonde sands a dangerously sharp edge.

And they are building something beautiful, too. She adored her own prom. Her heart got to beat joyful in sheer freedom there, and Alyssa’s voice was finally heard, not to be silenced every again. Their love shone so openly and bright under the flash of neon lights, and so did everyone else’s, no matter who their chests were filled with.

And now she gets to experience that all over again, this time with the new support of the ex-classmates that once rejected her.

It feels like turning pages.

The blonde sighs as the voices coming from the garage become silent. She grasps the rusty axe Shelby gave to her almost with an apprehensive expression and glances at the piece of wood she carefully placed on the floor.

Then, with the ease of years of practice, she delivers a flawless blow.

Emma takes some time to brush off the fine layer of sweat that begins to cover her forehead. The temperature is clearly rising.

In a last attempt to cool down, she leaves the axe aside and reaches down with her hands to take her white t-shirt off by its hem.

After placing the garment neatly on top of the only chair she brought outside, she puts herself into work again.

-

Kaylee’s mood suddenly goes up again, her mouth already watering as she thinks about the mango beverage she’s about to order.

“Hey, Nolan, come with us to- uh…”

At the sound of her friend’s voice dying out, Alyssa rushes to take a glance at her girlfriend, too. When she spots her tiny figure, though, her throat runs dry as well.

Emma is shirtless but for the black sportive bra hugging her skin, strong arms and toned body in full display under the heat of the afternoon sun. She’s clearly focused on her current task, which is to deliver blow after blow with the axe firmly grasped by her steady hands in order to cut a particularly sturdy piece of wood in two.

Her back, glistening, has redden due to the harshness of the unforgiving sunlight, and the usual softness of her features has left place for a calculating, stern expression.

She looks _hot_ , plain and simple.

A few thoughts gravitate around Alyssa’s mind at that exact moment. Most of them are echoes of her own voice murmuring something similar to _holy fuck_ , and _fuck yeah that’s my girlfriend! High five!_

The dizzy moment is only broken after Shelby’s voice startles her.

“O…kay. What is going on here?”

Emma’s stare snaps up, finally taking in the girls’ presence before her. Her eyes light up visibly at the sight of her girlfriend, and her mouth curls into a toothy, bright grin.

“Hey babe!”, she greets Alyssa, and then decides that she shouldn’t boast her favoritism so openly, “Hey girls…what’s wrong? Where are we going?”

The shortest brunette smiles big, _big_ , a boost of pride spreading through her body as she raises both a playful and threatening eyebrow targeted towards Kaylee.

“Nothing baby”, she mutters, approaching the shortest blonde slowly, subtly rejoicing in the sight before her, “Kaylee here want us to take a break. You must be tired too”, she ventures, and Emma never stops smiling.

Just behind them, Shelby sinks a sharp elbow deep into the tallest blonde’s ribs, who winces in pain as she snaps out of her shock.

“Alyssa will _fucking_ kill you”, the brunette murmurs, staring at her best friend pointedly, and at least Kaylee has the modesty to blush.

“I don’t know what you are talking about”, she argues back, tilting her chin up in fake defiance, her gaze softening as the pair of girls in front of her seemingly get lost in their own rainbow-y world.

Shelby rolls her eyes, but does not comment on the situation further. As she eyes her friends, she quickly discovers that she needs to intervene before she has to witness a moment too sweet for the sour taste of the stifling warmth penetrating the afternoon.

“So, Nolan, where did your abs even came from?”, she asks bluntly, and watches with amusement as the blonde flushes deeply under Alyssa’s heady stare.

“Huh… I just… got into carpentry? It calms me down when I’m nervous”.

“And serves as an interesting workout routine, apparently”, adds Alyssa, now visibly more collected.

Shelby merely hums in response, now feeling droplets of sweat sticking uncomfortably against her nape. As she reaches up to stretch her sore muscles, she spots Kaylee looking at her with curiosity dancing in her eyes.

Before she can ask, the blonde sighs in renewed annoyance.

“Alright. Congrats Emma for being ripped and congrats Alyssa… well you know _why_. Now let’s go before any of us melts here. We need to come back in a while if we want Shelby’s garage to look at least barely decent by tonight”.

The rest of the girls comply happily. The shortest blonde finally leaves the axe aside to take her girlfriend’s hand with a dopey expression, and the couple starts walking towards the nearest café with their features tendered under the force of sheer love.

Some steps behind, Shelby shakes her head in honest affection. They truly deserve to have that.

“You know”, she hears at her side, as Kaylee rests her arm around her shoulders, “I think I get it now”.

The brunette doesn’t really know why, but she feels her own cheeks heating up slightly under the strange light playing inside the blonde’s eyes.

-

The third prom turns out to be a success.

Well, it’s not as visually stunning as the second one, and it doesn’t boast the large budget of the first, but Shelby’s garage is decorated nicely and what’s more important – diversity ornaments the place in the most beautiful of the ways.

The fabric and paper decorations turn out to look way better under a dim, purplish light, and they definitely become much more interesting under the weight of tons of sweet strong drinks. The music is upbeat and nice, a good mixture of old classics and new hits that Kaylee supervised personally three times. 

Everybody seems to be having a good time. The four prom-hosts have even witnessed the worst of Edgewater’s ex-jocks dancing with every single queer attendee without even batting an eyelash. Impressed, Alyssa had made a point of whispering Emma how proud of her she was at some point in the night. In return, the blonde had stared at her girlfriend with melting tenderness to tell her that they have _both_ done it.

Now, it is way past midnight. There’s only a few hours separating the starry night from the inevitable raise of the morning sun. Loud beats have left place for a softer, smoother melody, and the deeper lights have allowed for partners to dance with each other in the middle of the room without a care in the world.

Emma is holding Alyssa close by her waist. She can feel her warmth, her sweet scent, her breath tickling against her neck. Her hands tighten against the soft fabric of the short, _sexy_ , champagne dress the brunette decided to wear. The blonde can barely hold in all the love she feels for her girl at that moment. She feels it spilling, her eyes watering, her pulse trembling.

Against her, Alyssa’s chest irradiates pure joy. It all comes down to that. All the fear, the tears, the screaming, the brunette would do it all over again, every single painful step, if that meant being able be held by her girlfriend in that way, as if the world was senseless past their delightful bond. The brunette smiles softly, letting her fingers tangle in blonde curls.

“I love you”, she murmurs, only because her heart begs her to say it.

Emma pulls away under the desire to meet her girlfriend’s eyes.

“I love you”, she answers back, and eyes her gestures almost reverently, “You were right. This is nice”.

The brunette smiles mischievously, still swaying at the rhythm of the music.

“Always am, darling”.

She is rewarded with a slight, affectionate chuckle.

“Of course, love”, Emma answers. Then, she spends some moments regarding the decoration around them, reflexive, “We did a great job. I guess all those hours of hard work and listening to Kaylee screaming at the rest of the Edgewater population payed off”.

Alyssa smiles brilliantly, her left hand moving down to play with her girlfriend’s dark bowtie almost absent-mindedly.

Emma’s modern, three-piece back suit is doing wonders.

“Well, _I_ had fun”, she muses, bringing her other hand to grasp her girlfriend’s toned arm for good measure.

She sees the change of light in the blonde’s eyes, the way in which her shoulders grow straighter, and her mouth parts just slightly. There’s an unmentioned change of energy that Alyssa always, always loves.

“Oh?”, Emma asks, in a mixture of light flirting and true confusion, “How so?”

The brunette hums, suddenly more perceptive. She leans on her tiptoes to kiss her girlfriend deeply just because she can, and because she likes it how the blonde’s steady digits press insistently against her ribs.

“The carpenter”, she murmurs against her girlfriend’s lips, trying to keep a smile at bay, “was kinda hot”.

Emma lets out a deep, throaty laugh before pecking Alyssa’s pouty mouth almost as if trying to ground herself.

“Well, the _carpenter_ may be up to take you back home at this exact moment”, she answers, growing impatient around the multitude of people still swaying in the room.

Alyssa does not need to be told twice.

“What about your grandma?”, she asks, her breath stuttering as she feels her girlfriend’s breath approaching her neck.

“We can use the barn. I left it ready so it is livable now”.

Alyssa thinks about asking her girlfriend to provide with all the details about the secret renovation, but her fingertips are already tingling with excitement. The lights have faded into a deep, neon blue, and the music has turned into another nostalgia-inducing tune. 

“Let’s go, babe. We can come to help clean in the morning”, she murmurs instead, and takes Emma’s hand to eagerly lead her out of the garage. On her way out, her eyes catch the sight of Kaylee and Shelby dancing quietly with their gazes tangled on each other. The brunette raises her eyebrows almost impressed, but the warm heat of Emma’s hand squeezing her wrist vanishes any further thought from her mind.

Instead, she rushes to spend the rest of a very memorable night with her gorgeous, caring, very, _very_ much strong girlfriend… all by themselves.

-

Shelby is actually blushing.

Kaylee’s floral, obviously expensive perfume is making her feel a bit dizzy.

Or it is probably the only two cups of cheap booze she could handle before deciding that she’d rather stay sober.

The blonde squeezes her shoulders tighter, all of the sudden, and Shelby doesn’t know whether to loosen her own grasp on her best friend’s waist or to pull her closer against her chest.

Kaylee makes that decision for her. She pulls away only slightly to stare down at the brunette, but keeps her hands firmly pressed against her nape.

“Shelby”, she murmurs, and it sounds like a hushed confession.

The shortest girl stares at her friend with her gestures hardened by the hint of anticipation.

“Yeah?”, she whispers back.

There’s something going on. There’s a connection burning through their bond, a palpitating feeling that is making her lick her lips in a nervous gesture.

Before her, Kaylee looks unusually calm, unhinged. Her transparent eyes shine with the sparkle of a secret she has just unveiled.

“Would you let me take you to my house?”, she asks softly, her blunt nails – when did she cut her nails, anyway? - tracing uneven patterns on her friend’s skin.

Shelby’s mind shuts off for a second. Her breath catches on the base of her throat and her deep blush spreads further, warm and nice everywhere it can reach.

“I… what about the prom?”, she asks dumbfounded, unaware of the fact that her previously moving feet have been put to a halt. 

Kaylee smiles, and a wave of affection makes the brunette’s stomach backflip. She feels soft fingers caressing her check, her jaw, her chin.

“Let’s close up. There isn’t much people left, anyways”.

Shelby thinks about it only for a second. She analyzes the blonde’s open expression, her expectation, her patience, the way her hands are still pulling her in almost as if unable to stop themselves.

“Yes”, she answers, and Kaylee smiles in a way the brunette is absolutely sure she hasn’t seen before.

As she feels soft lips pecking her collarbone in relieved gratitude, Shelby thinks about writing Emma and Alyssa a thank you note for agreeing on building the new prom.


End file.
